Today was the last day of the regularly scheduled programming of site visits and classes at UEF. Time flies so fast! We first had a language class to practice basic phrases used in a market to prepare for our trip to Banh Thanh market. It was really hard to remember letters and their intonations, I am grateful for the help of the UEF students to teach it to us personally.
We got to try on our áo dài that we were fitted for in the beginning of the trip. The color I got was the cutest baby pink with bamboo leaf designs in a lighter pink. I absolutely loved it. The fit was perfect, the fabric quality was smooth and soft, and the whole outfit was so comfortable. The áo dài reminds me of Indian kurtis that I wear for cultural occasions back home.
We then got to paint on nón lá, the Vietnamese rice hat. It was really nice to sit, paint, and talk with everyone. I painted mine with a branch of colorful flowers and leaves. Flowers seemed to be a popular one among our group. After everything wrapped up at UEF, we went to lunch at an amazing pizza place, then headed to flex the new Vietnamese we had learned.
Banh Thanh market was not far from our hotel. It was a building filled with vendors selling food, souvenirs, clothing, and knockoff brands. It was really interesting to walk through the market and see all the things foreigners would buy. I helped a friend haggle the price of a hat, which I am pretty used to since in India, haggling is necessary to get anything worth the price. The UEF students also helped us haggle our way down from outrageous prices. One vendor even old them it was unfair for them to help us! I guess that is the cutthroat, competitive nature of souvenir shops in a tourist market. After shopping around, and buying nothing, I went to the Miniso across the street and bought some essentials. Also, air conditoning.
From the market, we went to the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. This visit was very interesting and more open-ended since it was not a business site visit. The woman that met with us, Annie, was very knowledgable about the consulate activities, its relation to DC, and her position. She talked to us about what the consulate does, which is to be an extension of the embassy in Hanoi and manage local activity, visas, etc. We had the opportunity to ask her questions pertaining to our research papers, so I asked about her input on the development of tourism in Vietnam since the war and how it has became one of their biggest industries. Annie explained that tourism, specifically from the USA, has rapidly expanded in Vietnam and that Vietnam now focuses on attracting high-value clients to their fancy hotels and restaurants.
These past two weeks have been one of the best experiences I’ve had, both recreationally and professionally. The business visits we have had were so insightful and helped me understand the business practices of companies I never knew existed or had very little knowledge about. The UEF students were so wonderful, I’m not a crier, but I’ll shed some tears tomorrow before we go. All good things must come to an end, but there is no reason we cannot find a new good thing. And that good thing are the connections and relationships we made with our new friends that will last through time and space.